Ken (and all), Thanks for the observations. I've been to Japan a few times on business. I've noticed a few things in wandering around Akihabara stores and, say, Yodobashi Camera near Shinjuku station. One is that Japanese products like laptops, mobile phones, cameras, etc., tend towards the "smaller is better" ideal. It seems to me that the Pentax push to manufactur smaller SLRs than the competition (including the *ist D) fits into this ideal.
The sense I have here in the U.S.A. is that photographers don't really care much about small size in SLRs. As has been pointed out, the opposite may actually be true. From this point of view, Pentax product marketing decisions make more sense to me in the way they address the home market than the U.S. market. Anyway, it's all just musing. I'd better get out and take some pictures! --Mark
